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Running Social Media Contests With Offerpop

Stephanie Miles

Writer, editor, Street Fight

Social media marketing may be cheap, but it definitely isn't passive. As anyone who's launched a company's Facebook page or Twitter account can attest, it takes hard work and a bit of creativity to generate enough 'likes' and follows to build an effective social media marketing campaign. Offerpop is a platform that businesses of all sizes can use to build the types of Facebook and Twitter campaigns that customers will actually notice.

How It Works

The average small business Facebook page is static. A business owner might occasionally update the company's weekly specials or limited-time sales, and customers might ask questions or post mini-reviews from time to time. For the most part, however, Facebook isn't an effective marketing tool for small-business owners who aren't willing to take an active role in the promotion of their pages.

Offerpop works by giving business owners an easy way to promote their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds through viral sweepstakes and contests that generate attention, promote customer engagement and lead to an increase in click-throughs and e-mail signups. Customers receive information about a business' upcoming contests and promotions in their newsfeeds on Facebook and Twitter, and they're invited to participate by completing certain actions or tasks. Depending on the type of promotion a company decides to run, its customers may be able to earn bonus points or additional entries by referring their friends, making Offerpop an excellent way for small businesses to draw more attention to their social media pages.

Offerpop in Action

Small businesses, large brands and international agencies can all use Offerpop to ramp up their social media efforts. To build their custom campaigns, business owners fill out a short "campaign builder" form with details about the contest they're hoping to run. Offerpop will provide the business owner with a preview of how the campaign will look, as well as additional creative ideas to make the promotion even more effective.

Although Offerpop creates the Facebook tabs and Twitter landing pages where business' campaigns actually run, SMBs are expected to promote their contests through a mix of emails, ads, and promotions on their existing websites. As social media users begin flocking to their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, businesses get real-time analytics and reports showing the performance of their campaigns.

At the Glenside Hotel in Drogheda, Ireland, hotelier Ronan McAuley has used Offerpop to run Facebook contests that reward fans for uploading photos, referring friends and posting funny captions on images uploaded by the hotel. Although the Glenside Hotel has given out thousands of dollars in rewards since it began running Offerpop contests on its Facebook page, McAuley says the costs still work out in his favor. In less than a year, the Glenside Hotel has gone from 1,000 'likes' on Facebook to 28,000. Meanwhile, business is up 18 percent since McAuley began focusing on social media late last year.

Why It Works

The more fans and followers a business has on its social media pages, the more effective these tools become for marketing and advertising purposes. Offerpop contests provide businesses with an easy way to stimulate interest in their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds—interest that doesn't go away once the business' sweepstakes or promotions are through.

Although savvy SMBs could technically run bare bones Facebook contests on their own, Offerpop gives business owners without technology backgrounds a way to run promotions that look professional and seamless. The landing pages that Offerpop creates for its business clients can be completely customized to fit any brand's aesthetic.

Maximizing the Benefits

Running a limited-time promotion is a great way to generate page views and press mentions, but one-off contests aren't likely to stimulate continued interest in a brand without fan-gating. Fan-gating is what Offerpop calls acquiring new fans and followers online. Businesses that require customers to 'like' their pages before participating in contests can increase the number of people who continue receiving their messages long after any Offerpop campaigns are through.

To track how well their promotions are faring, businesses should also keep a close eye on the real-time reports that Offerpop provides. Reports showing the number of news fans, the total visits to their pages, and the overall reach and "virality" of a given campaign can provide businesses owners with excellent insight into what adjustments or tweaks might be needed to make their campaigns even more successful in the future.